EPA’s 1990 stormwater regulations established NPDES permit requirements for “stormwater discharges associated with industrial activity.” EPA issued the first MSGP for stormwater discharges associated with industrial activity on Sept. 29, 1995, and reissued in 2000, 2008 and most recently on June 4, 2015.

EPA’s MSGP applies in areas of the country where EPA remains the NPDES permitting authority and has made the permit available for coverage, which includes:

To be covered under the 2015 MSGP, operators of industrial activities must submit a complete and accurate Notice of Intent (NOI) by the applicable deadline in the table below. (See note below the table if your facility is in Idaho (except for Indian country lands) or is on Spokane Tribe of Indian lands.) The NOI certifies to EPA that you are eligible for coverage and provides information on your industrial activities and discharges.

Operators of industrial activities authorized for coverage under the 2008 MSGP.

No later than Sept. 2, 2015, unless EPA notifies you that your deadline is extended.

Exception:For federal operators of industrial activities located in the State of Washington, no later than Oct. 19, 2015, unless EPA notifies you that your deadline is extended.

30 days after EPA notifies you that it has received a complete NOI, unless EPA notifies you that your authorization has been denied or delayed.

Note: You must review and update your SWPPP to ensure this permit’s requirements are addressed prior to submitting your NOI.

Provided you submit your NOI in accordance with the deadline, your authorization under the 2008 MSGP is automatically continued until you have been granted coverage under this permit or an alternative permit, or coverage is otherwise terminated.

Operators of industrial activities in areas where the MSGP was issued on June 4, 2015, that commenced discharging between Sept. 30, 2013 and Sept. 2, 2015, and have been operating consistent with EPA's no action assurance for the MSGP.

As soon as possible, but no later than Sept. 2, 2015, unless EPA notifies you that your deadline is extended.

30 days after EPA notifies you that it has received a complete NOI, unless EPA notifies you that your authorization has been denied or delayed.

Federal operators of industrial activities in the State of Washington (except Indian country) where the MSGP was issued on July 21, 2015, that commenced discharging between Sept. 30, 2013 and Oct. 9, 2015, and have been operating consistent with EPA’s no action assurance for the MSGP.

As soon as possible, but no later than Oct. 19, 2015, unless EPA notifies you that your deadline is extended.

30 days after EPA notifies you that it has received a complete NOI, unless EPA notifies you that your authorization has been denied or delayed.

Operators of industrial activities in areas where the MSGP was issued on June 4, 2015 that commence discharging after Sept. 2, 2015,

Federal operators of industrial activities in the State of Washington (except Indian country) where the MSGP was issued on July 21, 2015 that commence discharging after Oct. 19, 2015, and

Operators seeking coverage for dischargers previously covered under an individual permit or an alternative general permit.

A minimum of 30 days prior to commencing discharge in accordance with the terms of the 2015 MSGP.

30 days after EPA notifies you that it has received a complete NOI, unless EPA notifies you that your authorization has been denied or delayed.

New operators of existing industrial activities with discharges previously authorized under the 2015 MSGP.

A minimum of 30 days prior to the date of transfer of control to the new operator.

30 days after EPA notifies you that it has received a complete NOI, unless EPA notifies you that your authorization has been denied or delayed.

Other eligible operators – operators of industrial activities that began discharging prior to Sept. 2, 2015, but not covered under the 2008 MSGP or another NPDES permit and not operating consistent with EPA’s no action assurance for the NPDES Stormwater Multi-Sector General Permit for Industrial Activities.

Immediately, to minimize the time discharges from the facility will continue to be unauthorized.

30 days after EPA notifies you that it has received a complete NOI, unless EPA notifies you that your authorization has been denied or delayed.

Note: Operators of industrial facilities in the State of Idaho (except Indian country) or on Spokane Tribe of Indian lands are not yet eligible for coverage under the MSGP because certifications required by Section 401 of the Clean Water Act were not received in time. Once permit coverage is available in these areas, the following NOI deadlines will apply:

For operators of industrial activities that were authorized for coverage under the 2008 MSGP: no later than 90 days after the date of permit issuance in these areas.

For operators of industrial activities that commence discharging on or after Sept. 30, 2013, and prior to 90 days after the date of permit issuance in these areas: as soon as possible, but no later than 90 days after permit issuance.

For operators of industrial activities that commence discharging 90 days after permit issuance in these areas: A minimum of 30 days prior to commencing discharge in accordance with the terms of the 2015 MSGP.

Benchmark monitoring requirements commence starting in the first full quarter following September 2, 2015, or your date of discharge authorization, whichever is later. Benchmark monitoring continues quarterly until you qualify for a monitoring reduction or you fulfill the monitoring requirements specified in the permit.

Within 30 days of receiving all laboratory results for sample(s) taken during the quarter.

If follow-up monitoring indicates an exceedance, monitoring must continue at least quarterly until discharge is in compliance with the effluent limit, or until EPA waives the requirement for additional monitoring.

No later than 45 days after conducting the final routine inspection for the year.

The MSGP requires the SWPPP to be publicly available.

Some facilities post it on the web themselves. This web address must be included on the NOI, and you must update the SWPPP information posted at this web address.

Otherwise, the SWPPP information must be included in the NOI. In this case, you must update by submitting a “Change NOI” form electronically using the NPDES eReporting Tool (NeT) for MSGP. EPA makes the NOI publicly available via its ECHO website.

EPA Industrial SWPPP Template (Word version)(29 pp, 148K) - Industrial facilities can use this template to create their SWPPPs. As a reminder, all facilities must have a SWPPP completed prior to submitting their NOIs for coverage under the 2015 MSGP.

Industrial Stormwater Monitoring and Sampling Guide (PDF)(51 pp, 1.1MB, About PDF) - This is a how-to primer for industrial operators on conducting visual and analytical monitoring of stormwater discharges. It is written to help facilities understand and comply with the MSGP’s monitoring requirements, but can also be used by facilities subject to state-issued industrial stormwater permits.